#kuroshitsuji meta

[lunerium]

Beautiful and Foolish

My favorite scene from the manga is in the Campania arc, during Sebastian's flashback, when Sebastian realizes that Ciel is unlike any other human, and that his willpower and desire for revenge is stronger than his longing for the past. It sets him apart from all the other humans Sebastian has met before, and it makes him realize that his soul is a most delectable one.

Sebastian thinks that Ciel’s resolute will and undying strength makes him “beautiful and foolish”. What I admire about this scene is that it's the start of Sebastian's character development, and what sets him apart to how he was when he first made the contract with Ciel. He only wanted a soul to sate his hunger, but then he slowly realizes that this human is, indeed, special.

#kuroshtisuji #ciel phantomhive #Sebastian michaelis #character analysis #sebaciel #Kuroshitsuji meta #meta analysis

[ranma0]

Like many people Kuroshitsuji has been on my mind lately

And I know that one of the big debates is whether or not Sebastian cares about Ciel

But

What I find more interesting is how much the rest of the staff cares about Sebastian.

Bard Finny and Mey Rin genuinely give a damn about him. Bard lends Sebastian his nightclothes, he taught Finny how to read, they all admire him for the way he keeps the manor under control. When they thought he was dead, they cried for him.

It's just kind of profound, even if he loves no one, even if he's not capable of that, he's still so loved by these silly humans

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #phantomhive servants #sebastian michaelis #finny kuroshitsuji #finny black butler #mey rin kuroshitsuji #mey rin #bardroy #bard kuroshitsuji #bard black butler #original #sebastian #i contributed #agni black butler #agni kuroshitsuji #sebagni #kuroshitsuji meta #meyrin kuroshitsuji #mei rin #mei rin kuroshitsuji

[midnightasteris]

The theme of love in Black Butler

The irony of the Book of Murder side chapter is that Sebastian was portrayed as the "Ice King" which is an allegory to his supposed lack of emotion towards Ciel, that he only stays at his side and protects him because of the contract, and nothing more. The irony is that he no longer protects him just because of the contract. Sebastian has actually grown to care for, maybe even love, Ciel. But since he's a demon, he would deem those feelings impossible. He is supposedly just a "heartless beast", or so he thinks.

The theme of the "heart of ice" is also seen in the song "Hallucination" Sebastian sings to Ciel in the second musical, "My once frozen heart is now burning and melting as I close my eyes"(source). Sebastian addresses that those growing feelings are too silly for him to even think about. He is aware that his heart is melting for his master, but he always dismisses it, until it's "too foolish to whisper" and "too late to conceal". The story is more than just a corrupted soul obtaining his revenge. It's about a demon learning to love a human.

#sebaciel #black butler #ciel phantomhive #sebastian michaelis #kuroshitsuji #Sebaciel meta #kuroshitsuji meta #Sebastian is so in love with Ciel #and in the most recent chapter it just became more evident #midnightasteris #OTP: monochrome no kiss #Hallucination #BOM side chapter

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

Kuroshitsuji

and Radetzky March

Every New Year’s Day, it is a tradition that the Viennese Philharmonic Orchestra plays this staple public favourite to end their performance. The concert is televised in more than 90 countries. Last year, they began to stream it on the internet, which one can watch for free in five days.

Seiji Ozawa conducting, 2002

Anyway, since I’ve become interested in Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler it is thrilling to find out that Yana Toboso included it on her story. Will the song be incorporated into the Public School arc in April? I’d love to see and hear Sebastian Michaelis as the maestro conducting it.

Now, it is true that it is a patriotic song. And the history behind it is bloody. The melody is very happy for sure, as if you’ve come out from the battle/war unscathed. Victorious, yes. Who wouldn’t be? No wonder, Sebastian loves it. It also has the same cadence like the heartbeat.

A background: Strauss the Father composed it for the Count Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. It is to commemorate his regiment’s advancing to Northern Italy. One time listening to our tour guide in Venice, she mentioned this part of history to us, she showed us the cannons they retrieved from the Austrian army, which fired and destroyed their buildings indiscriminately during the bloody days of 1848. Those states made up of the Austrian-Hungary Empire that wanted their freedom so much but the emperor sent his troops instead to stop these revolts from happening. One Venetian hotel that survived the bombing incorporated the cannonballs to its building as a reminder of the centuries past.

Some Austrian historians believe it is time to “cancel” the song or rather remove the song from the yearly Neujahrskonzert. The yearly traditional concert has a few problems. But not this song. One of them is the lack of female conductors leading the orchestra. Whereas Ricardo Mutti, an Italian maestro, will reportedly lead the concert again next year for the, get this, seventh time!!!

It was only in 2002 when they let the late Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa, the first ever Asian, to lead the orchestra and received standing ovation after playing the staple ending song of Radetzky March.

It is very important to remember the past and learn from it. Austria, once an empire, knows it very well, to be stripped of the lands and power it once willed. But in some aspects they learned the lesson. Not all, but most. Thing is, removing this song from the yearly concert feels like something is lacking. Also, I don’t think it would solve the issue of the Austrian philharmonic orchestra where it is dominated by male musicians.

I digress.

Am curious of Yana T’s connection to it. I would really love to know if she watches the televised concert every New Year’s Day. Or did she choose it specifically bc of popularity or the history. Or the melody.

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #sebastian michaelis #ciel phantomhive #yana toboso #the public school arc #radetzky march #johann strauss i #Youtube #wall of text #kuroshitsuji meta

[ravelqueen]

Full on speculation time but you know who would be super fucked up to be Polaris, but would make sense with the level of devotion to Real Ciel shown?

Baron Kelvin.

Polaris shows extreme anger at anyone touching R!Ciel and cries at the thought of losing him again and is extremely quick to go for the "kill them all" option.

I know he was in fact not a butler in life BUT he did have a huge inferiority complex towards the phantomhives.

The body silhouette doesn't fit, but what if Undertaker has figured out a way to attach the "episodes" of one person to a different body? Or maybe he just finished the body modification the doctor did beforehand?

It would be a super super creepy twist and you know how much Yana loves those!

#kuroshitsuji #kuroshitsuji meta #fully ready to be proven so wrong #but think about it! kelvin was also crying all the time at the thought of being seen by the phantomhives lol

[yume-holic]

TW // spoilers for Kuroshitsuji manga, discussion of fictional children's death

so if the new star lord turns out to be Doll / Doll is a bizarre doll (lol)

That means that canonically, Undertaker had to "fix" two children murdered by Sebastian so far. (and RC also had wounds from when the ring was retrieved)

Just thinking about the utter disgust and hatred that UT must feel towards Sebastian having seen from so so up close the fucked up shit he is capable of

And at the same time Seb is so fucking terrified of UT, I love it.

They both have valid reasons to absolutely despise each other, yet they can't kill each other just yet

Idkk!! Their enmity is so interesting! I wish we could get more of them together.

#kuroshitsuji #btw im not anti Seb he's one of my favorites #I think the sebastian/undertaker dynamic is so interesting and these two should talk more or have more scenes together #undertaker #kuroshitsuji undertaker #sebastian michaelis #real ciel #Kuroshitsuji meta #kuro spoilers #kuroshitsuji spoilers #kuroshitsuji 192

[neo--queen--serenity]

The Black Butler revival will, of course, in this day and age, be the complete embodiment of pro-ship vs. anti-ship discourse, given the subject matter.

But for those of you who are watching this for the first time in 2024 (which includes myself!), there are certain things about the show you simply must understand, for the sake of media literacy.

The first is that Black Butler is supernatural gothic romanticism at its core. This genre alone should tell you that the relationships integral to the plot will be complex, messy, and toxic, by default. That is not only a huge part of this genre’s appeal, but very much the point of the story.

The themes are dark, the terrible things that happen to the main characters are dark, and therefore the relationships at the forefront (and in the background) will reflect that.

The gothic genre has been alluringly popular for over a century (longer, if you know your history) because audiences are entranced by the macabre, the tainted antiheroes, the monsters who live inside us all. It’s popular for a reason.

That being said, understand that whether you, the viewer, ship Sebastian and Ciel or not is irrelevant. Their bond doesn’t need to be understood as romantic or sexual, but it sure as hell isn’t normal. It isn’t healthy. And the audience knows that. That’s the draw. It’s what makes them compelling to watch.

Ciel and Sebastian’s relationship mirrors many gothic novels, poems, and penny dreadfuls written in the Victorian Era (the very same time period in which Kuroshitsuji takes place). The Victorian folks who read these tales for the first time ate that shit up, because it was tantalizing. It was shocking. It was inappropriate, and monstrous, and violent, and erotic, and went against societal norms. But that was the point.

A huge part of gothic romanticism is the blatant sexualization of the relationship between the “monstrous” characters and their human counterparts in the story. Sex itself doesn’t need to take place for their bond to be sexually charged. The forbidden nature of their relationship—which typically involves layers of social taboos, moral ambiguity, or simple infatuation—is what makes their interactions erotic. Sexual contact rarely ever actually happens in these stories. It’s the taboo nature of their bond that creates the tension.

One of the many reasons audiences love this genre is the constant question of morality in its themes. Who, between them, is the real monster? Could the human character have ever been saved? This genre is often associated with tragedy, because the bond forged between the characters in these stories are destined to end in death and destruction. The reader knows it can’t end any other way. How can it?

But an integral element of these gothic tales is the catharsis that comes with this tragedy. The corrupted human often gets what they want in the end, even if it’s at the cost of their own life. Whether they regret their choice to foster this monstrous relationship varies on the story, but it doesn’t change the trajectory of their descent.

Sebastian and Ciel’s relationship is the whole plot of Black Butler. Their closeness bears a grotesque ick factor, but it is deliberate. It is a constant reminder of how unnatrual their bond truly is. Rationalizing or watering down how abnormal they are about each other misses the point entirely. They will never have a normal, healthy relationship, and that’s what moves the plot forward.

That’s why you’re watching it.

#black butler #kuroshitsuji #ciel phantomhive #sebastian michaelis #the soundtrack repeatedly uses gregorian chants of the agnus dei. like COME ON. gothic media loves a catholic allegory #gothic literature #gothic romanticism #neo queen serenity’s posts #please remember to be civil! or else my block button will be upon ye #black butler analysis #kuroshitsuji anime #yana toboso #black butler anime #classic literature #black butler meta #black butler season 4 #black butler s4 #kuroshitsuji season 4

[thefawnfallacy]

Personally, I imagine that Black Butler would be rather bland without the undertone of sebaciel. The psychosexual aspect of sebaciel that permeates the entirety of the relationship between Ciel and Sebastian genuinely helps to broaden the world around them and the ways in which they interact with it, especially Ciel as we already know about the trauma regarding sex and his body that he has.

It also adds a layer of depth to Sebastian that takes him from being a “stereotypical” demon to a multifaceted character that could potentially see Ciel in a romantic light that deviates from his shown nature of using sex as a method of perfunctorily gathering information. This also ties into the ways in which Ciel is still his means of nourishment while simultaneously providing an undercurrent of emotional stimulation that typically wouldn’t be associated with demons. (especially since we already know demons can express familial and platonic feelings, i.e. Hannah, Alois and Luka).

#I’m just yapping here but! #kuroshitsuji #sebastian michaelis #ciel phantomhive #sebaciel #meta?? I guess this can be a meta #black butler #yana toboso

[phantomhivewooltailcoat]

Sometimes I think about how horrifying Ciel's eventual fate is.

Sebastian says his soul will "disappear". But how long does that take? What does that entail?

Is it instantaneous? Painless? Will the boy finally obtain peace as his very soul is destroyed in a demon's stomach?

Or is it a drawn out process - perhaps like a snake takes days to digest something, the demon might take days, weeks, years to finish with the boy. Maybe it's painful. Maybe it's even worse than hell. Maybe Ciel will spend every second in agony, feeling every bit of himself being slowly burned away until he regrets he didn't die on the altar table.

Maybe his twin is still in there. Maybe through tea parties and circuses and witches and cults, all the time an innocent ten year old was paying the price for a summoned demon he did not call for. Maybe when his brother, eventually, joins him he is unrecognizable. They are finally reunited, but neither is happy about it.

The demon often talks about how hungry it is, so hopefully it's prey doesn't suffer too long. But still, the image of a child suffering far more than he ever had in an already hard life sticks in one's mind. The child, used to giving orders, cries for the demon to let him back out.

The demon isn't listening.

#not sure if this is fic or meta or what #i only shitpost to forget about hiw tragic this story really is #kuroshitsuji #black butler #sebastian michaelis #ciel phantomhive #r!ciel

[goetiae]

I believe Ciel is meant to die.

As much as I enjoy theories and headcanons that dwell on the possibility of him joining Sebastian in the afterlife, I do believe that the canon tragedy of Ciel Phantomhive is that he is not meant to survive; he is virtually already dead. He has bought himself time with the soul of his brother, and there will be a moment this time comes down to an end.

I find it interesting that currently Ciel, who is inevitably moving towards his fated end, is opposed to his brother - someone whose very existence is not meant to be: Undertaker is desperately trying to keep him alive despite Ciel's brother and Ciel himself being already dead, even if for one of them it is delayed. In a way, they both belong to Sebastian, but only one of them is food worth savoring.

Some part of this makes me think of the predatorial nature of Sebastian's care for Ciel. This boy who has built himself out of nothing, created a name for himself, and has established his reign - this boy is finally a priority for someone, and this someone craves to consume him.

Ciel is Sebastian's first and only choice, and this, being a personal delicacy of a demon, is exactly why Ciel is granted the chance to have a life he always wanted, life of the favored heir.

Alas, it is also the reason why Ciel is not meant to survive: he is Sebastian's, and the demon prefers him too strongly.

#༺⛧༻ 𝕮𝔞𝔫𝔢𝔰 𝖁𝔢𝔫𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔠𝔦 ༺⛧༻ #༺♜༻ 𝕯𝔦𝔞𝔟𝔬𝔩𝔦𝔠𝔬 ༺♜༻ #kuroshitsuji #black butler #black butler meta #ciel phantomhive #sebastian michaelis

[deevotee]

i see a lot of complaints about the women of black butler and people saying "who is this fanservice for?!" and its kind of funny to me, because yana has put into the extras pages who that fanservice is for (spoiler alert: its for her)

#yana: im gonna be gay and you're all going to like it #yana toboso #toboso yana #black butler #kuroshitsuji #devo speaks #meta

[midnightasteris]

Sebastian is expressing his love for Ciel through flowers

When looking back at all of Yana's previous artworks, where she depicts Sebastian and Ciel often in pictures with flowers, many have debated the significance of flower symbolism in Yana's pieces. While Yana has said that she enjoys playing with flower symbolism in Black Butler art, she never quite stated the reason behind that. It was not until a while ago when I found this information about the significance of flower language in the Victorian era that I understood how much Yana pays close attention to historical context:

"In the Victorian era, when expressing emotions was often considered inappropriate, the giving of flowers was a common way to convey feelings without speaking them aloud." (source).

this gives further meaning to all the flower symbolism Yana uses in her pieces. It's not merely an artistic choice, and it's not merely her liking flowers. It is part of the narrative. Back in the Victorian era, flower language was the most common way people expressed emotions because being open about emotions was improper, especially in high social classes.

which means that her flower drawings with Sebastian and Ciel have way more textual meaning with the flower language. It even gives it an explanation through the lens of the story, rather than her artistic choice. If given an explanation through the narrative, Sebastian may be gifting all those flowers to Ciel as a way to express something in particular. And if we remember correctly, he's gifted him yellow mimosas (they symbolize secret love), and of course, Yana's most recent artwork where Sebastian is giving Ciel a bright red rose in a cup of tea (Which symbolizes romantic love, lust, desire, passion). Perhaps Yana's flower symbolism is tied even more to the story per se because it's saying that the flowers are Sebastian's way of expressing his repressed feelings towards Ciel. This ties more into the theory that Sebastian's character development slowly ties into the fact that he cannot explain why all of a sudden he's falling in love with this mortal human.

Here's the mimosa art, for a deeper look into it. Ciel is wearing the mimosas over his head, in something that might appear to be a hat. Who is the only person who dresses Ciel? Sebastian, of course. Sebastian made sure to delicately place those yellow mimosas over Ciel's head. He wanted to make sure Ciel received the flowers, if not the message.

And a closer look into the new GFantasy cover. The position of the red rose takes significance because it's in a teacup, which means that Sebastian directly handed Ciel the rose, since he is the one that always makes Ciel his afternoon tea. He gave Ciel that rose because he wanted Ciel to notice.

Thus, the historical context takes on more significance when considering what could've been considered an "impropriety" and therefore not morally correct to declare out loud. Sebastian appears before Ciel with yellow mimosas and red roses, while trying to subtly convey the message that he is, indeed, in love with him.

#sebaciel #black butler #ciel phantomhive #sebastian michaelis #kuroshitsuji #meta #meta post #sebaciel meta #Flower language #Symbolism #midnightasteris #Sebastian x Ciel #Ciel x Sebastian #red roses #Yellow mimosas #All part of the language of flowers #the language of love

[seekers-who-are-lovers]

A. Ciel’s nails

I can’t with Ciel’s nails here though. That’s not a well-manicured set of nails. They are too short, too blunt, kinda chipped, as if he’s biting them. The fact that he doesn’t have any gloves on this particular pictorial is fascinating. He’s always worn stylish gloves. And if he didn’t have, they aren’t as lustreless as these. The blunt nails resemble a corpse that tries to dig its way out. I wonder if he has developed a habit of biting his nails in the course of his return. And Yana is showing them now to add to his characterisation. That says a lot about the stress he’s been keeping since then. They look painted but not in a way proper and well kept like he had on “Book of Circus” and other images.

Ciel’s fingernails and as a bonus, his toenails

B. ‘The world is my oyster’

Taken from William Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor” that became part of the English idiom, it means that young people have so many options, everything is open to one, so many opportunities, a playground. On the play, the correct quote is “the world is mine oyster” and the meaning was not exactly what is meant in the present time. Anyway, not sure if Yana’s spelling of the “oisters” has been intentional. It is jarring nonetheless. Oysters 🦪 have many connotations, both spiritual and sexual. The most famous of all is that it is aphrodisiac. One Vice writer wrote her experience. A dietitian, however, contested if the oyster’s reputation is true.

In the West, “Oysters were a reminder of ancient times and symbolized Aphrodite, the goddess of love, fertility, pleasure, and sex throughout antiquity and all the way into Baroque art.”

In Asian cultures, especially in Japan, “Japanese folklore explicitly tells the origin of pearls. They believed that pearls were the very tears of merfolk and nymphs who were so mystical that they did not cry tears similar to mortal humans, but instead cried beautiful, milky white pearls.”

Thirtieth anniversary is also called pearl anniversary and might be the main reason Yana has chosen pearls as her motif.

But it is curious for her to portray Ciel as an oyster Sebastian is going to feast on. That’s not subtext at all.

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #sebastian michaelis #ciel phantomhive #yana toboso #art #gfantasy #30th anniversary #black butler: artbook 1 #black butler: artbook 3 #black butler: artbook 2 #black butler: artbook 4 #kuroshitsuji: book of circus #kuroshitsuji meta

[leitereads]

Kuroshitsuji: an analysis on "fagging" and a change of power dynamics between characters

I know how disappointed some fans are regarding the "politically correct" presentation of Ciel and the overall "fagging" culture that was common back then at elite boarding schools in the UK. From what I have heard from people slightly older than me, this was a thing that carried on into the late 90s in certain private schools. As of now, I am sorry, I don’t know anyone rich enough to ask them regarding those things.

However, what I can say about this matter is that a) this practice is can be found almost anywhere in the world (mostly in universities), b) it is about power exchange and how it leads to respecting tradition and bond with other students, c) I am part of it in my own university and d) it’s deliciously represented in Kuroshitsuji, in a way that somehow gives us a different perspective over what Ciel can and cannot do, limiting his actions, something that he, as a powerful noble, is not used to.

Fagging

In many countries and cultures cross the world, "fagging" has many different names, and many different forms. In the US you have fraternities and sororities, here in my country you have the "Praxe". In the UK you have (had?) fagging, in which consisted exactly on younger students doing most part of domestic tasks that were supposed to be made by older students. The older the students were, the more power and status they gained inside the institution, and therefore the more privileges they had. In consequence, although these fags didn’t have an easy life, they still had some sort of protection and status themselves for serving someone older. This creates an hierarchy based on age, more specifically just academic age.

Ciel, as being someone young is, of course, at the base of this hierarchical system. Someone who is used to be at the top of the hierarchical ladder is going to struggle to adapt to a new environment, one in which he simply cannot understand/agree with the traditions imposed. This will create a certain obstacle at first, because he needs to learn how to navigate in a different society so different and, at the same time, so similar to the one he belongs to: the only difference being where he stands. And we see Ciel, for the second time in his life, working himself from the the way down to the way up.

In the first time, his birth condition (well, let’s assume we are speaking about Ciel’s condition, and not o!Ciel’s one at least) gave him a kickstart in life: a manor, monetary goods, a title. In this case, he is a mere 1st year student, and he must subjugate himself to the desires (sometimes sadistic) of older students, especially Clayton at first.

Psychological Implications

It may be complicated from Ciel, even more taking in consideration how prideful he is, to swallow that pride and abide by traditions he a) doesn’t relate to b) finds useless and c) seeing himself without a lot of power to swiftly surpass those obstacles. Ciel is not there in order to live the academic traditions that are present around him, nor to make friends, of course. And, in the end, fagging and these other academic traditions open the door to just that: when people suffer together they usually stick together. This is the meaning of fagging, Praxe, and all the other academic traditions listed. And this is not what he is searching for. Which puts a little bit of strain on him, and he ultimately might think they are extremely childish and ridiculous.

Another interesting aspect of this overall power exchange here is that Sebastian is in a higher position of power than Ciel, as opposed to their base situation. This is, of course, extremely debatable, and the power that each one of them holds in their master/servant (no, I am not talking about that sort of thing… eww) is quite mutable, and, at times, one may hold more control over the other, and that is changing. Here we have a third factor contributing to that mutable power exchange: a different environment, where Sebastian’s position allows him to be seen as more respectable. And this is extremely delicious to see when he lets Ciel undergoing the initiation ritual with the bedsheets and being thrown: Sebastian is, obviously, enjoying himself at the expense of his master’s suffering, since in normal situations he simply cannot do that, at least not as frequently. To Sebastian this is cathartic, and to Ciel (Sebastian’s master) this must feel extremely insolent. Especially because Ciel is someone who likes to always be in control, having in consideration all he went through.

Undergoing this traditional upbringing will, hopefully, provide Ciel either the necessary tools regarding being more self-reliant and independent when it comes to Sebastian because, even if the demon is able to help him out with all the domestic tasks that he needs to do, who knows what will happen when Ciel loses (even if just temporarily) Sebastian one day (which, as another post explained, it might happen sooner than we think).

By being a fag and by navigating a position in which he is in a lower position, Ciel can’t find many shortcuts to success, and he will need to a) rely on his interpersonal skills, b) make connections with other students, c) be aware of what’s going on, socially, around him (read the room) and d) use his insight more than the sheer force and threats of Sebastian.

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #ciel phantomhive #public school arc #anime #manga #meta #analysis #character analysis #writing #culture

[tcfluidity]

ciel would be the worst person to play video games with, like

' ...this world is no chess game, where one cannot win if not playing by the rules'

yeah right, that sounds like the rhetoric of someone who would cheat at mario kart by driving off the edge of the track.

#i will die on this hill #it is Not Allowed to drive off the edge and skip whole sections of the track #its cheating #honestly i feel like he would be the best at video games #but only in a sneaky meta way that makes no one want to play with him #kuroshitsuji #black butler #ciel phantomhive

[janeicethesiren]

Hot take: The Woobification of Sebastian and O!Ciel-How Beauty Clouds Judgement

Hey guys, it’s me again and I can’t sleep. I have another hot take to share! Once again, please don’t take this too seriously, I’m just talking.

So, I just want to start off by saying that I totally get it. I mean it! We’ve been following these characters for years and we’ve gotten so invested in there stories and we can’t help but want them to win, you know? It’s human nature to want to root for the underdog in some ways. And, O!Ciel kinda fits the mold of underdog when you consider his backstory.

But, and this is my opinion, Ciel and Sebastian are NOT the underdogs. And I can’t help but think that if they both weren’t so pretty, you’d see a lot less people excusing their behavior or rooting for them.

I should also stress that I’m not talking about the people who look at these characters through a complex lense, I’m more so talking about people who are insistent that O!Ciel and Sebastian are good people/not evil.

Like I said, I get it and I empathize with the kid, but the kid is a BASTARD. He has progressively become an awful, awful person and that’s the POINT. And I can’t help but find it boring when people try to strip that away from him.

People feel bad for O!Ciel because he’s been through a lot, which yeah he definitely has. And people are mad at R!Ciel for standing against him and at Lizzy for turning on him, at least for now.

And, again, I kinda get it because we’ve been with O!Ciel for so long and it’s natural to root for him. But, O!Ciel is not the good guy! Lol what’s happening right now is that he’s currently being forced to face the consequences of his own actions. Which, let’s be honest, he wasn’t expecting to ever have to do because of his personal countdown death clock, Sebastian.

I can understand why he told those lies, especially at the beginning. But there’s no excuse for them anymore. He should have BEEN told everyone the truth. Would it have been easy? Of course not. But it would’ve been the right thing to do. While it’s understandable why he did what he did, he still took away his family’s ability to grieve and R!Ciel’s ability to rest, at least in my opinion.

Also, I think it’s important to note that, after a point, O!Ciel started to ENJOY being Ciel. So much so that he’s willing to fight the real Ciel for his own name. Which is absurd when you think about it!

His family absolutely ain’t shit for not only not noticing the difference, but also not doing anything to step in and really be there for that boy. But again, that’s part of the point of what Yana is trying to say in that upperclass Victorian society is/and was depraved, shallow, and mostly evil.

O!Ciel may have been thinking of the others when he made his initial decision but the decision was still selfish. I think that it’s ok to say that; while yes, he suffered from heavy survivors guilt and truly thought that his family would prefer for R!Ciel to come back (and unfortunately he wasn’t wrong), he still, if only subconsciously, wanted the power, prestige, and access that R!Ciel’s name carried.

He LIKES being Ciel now and loathes his old name and position. He LIKES the power, the access, the maneuverability, hurting people when they get in his way, killing those who wronged him, the security of Sebastian’s presence, the ability to make his dream come true (made a lot easier with Ciel’s name), the dark mind games he plays with people. ALL OF IT. He loves it and that’s the POINT.

And Sebastian is a demon. Yes we all know that, that’s not news. However, I still feel like we give the man (entity, whatever) too much credit a lot of the time. Again, mostly because he’s pretty.

Is it possible that he grew to care for O!Ciel in someway? Sure! And I do believe he legitimately has a lot of respect for O!Ciel. But I honestly think it’s more likely that the bastard is hungry and the current events are making him worried that he’ll end up being killed or losing his meal in the end. I don’t think it’s impossible or too much of a stretch to say that he’s grown fond of O!Ciel in someways, but best believe that child is food. Yana even outright says that Sebastian LOVES to see Ciel suffer! Only it’s not so fun when Sebastian is also suffering too, lol he’s a narcissist.

TLDR: It makes sense why people root for O!Ciel and Sebastian. But I think we give these two way too much credit sometimes and there’s an over abundance of people trying to absolve them both of their evil. They are both garbage (lovable garbage!) that are currently facing the consequences of (mostly Ciel’s) actions. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Please don’t kill me.

#Kuroshitsuji #black butler #kuroshitsuji manga #o!ciel #sebastian michaelis #character analysis #unpopular opinion #Meta #please don’t kill me #I hope I’m not coming across as condescending and apologize if I am #these are just my thoughts #please don’t take this too seriously #i’m just talking #ciel phantomhive #elizabeth midford